
Bar in House of Seven Mirrors, Valparaiso, Chile
<p>A native of Chile, Sergio Larraín studied in the United States before moving to Europe to join the cooperative photographic agency Magnum. After traveling worldwide on assignment, he returned to Chile, where he published a 1963 book of lyrical photographs made in Valparaíso and other cities, <em>The Rectangle in the Hand</em>. The book’s humanism greatly impressed Hugh Edwards, who offered Larraín his first one-man show in 1965. He acquired 20 of Larraín’s photographs, including this nighttime scene from a Valparaíso bar filled with reflected gestures.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1963
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image/paper: 34.3 × 22.9 cm (13 9/16 × 9 1/16 in.); Mount: 56.1 × 45.8 cm (22 1/8 × 18 1/16 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Sergio Larrain
Artist

Photography
Sergio Larraín was a Chilean photographer known for his black-and-white documentary work in post-war Latin America and Europe. Working primarily with the 35mm camera, he captured street scenes, urban architecture, and intimate portraits marked by formal precision and psychological depth. A member of Magnum Photos, Larraín documented the social and political landscape of Chile, Peru, and Bolivia during the mid-twentieth century, as well as the streets of London and Rome. His photographs balance strict compositional control with an acute sensitivity to chance gesture and shadow. In his later years, he withdrew from professional photography to pursue a spiritual practice in a monastery in Dordogne, France.
Full artist profile →More
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Untitled, Valparaiso, Chile
1963 · Gelatin silver print
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1963 · Gelatin silver print
Untitled, Valparaiso, Chile
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Untitled, Valparaiso, Chile
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Boys in Valparaiso, Chile
1963 · Gelatin silver print
Untitled, Valparaiso, Chile
1963 · Gelatin silver print
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Sergio Larrain
- Year
- 1963
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image/paper: 34.3 × 22.9 cm (13 9/16 × 9 1/16 in.); Mount: 56.1 × 45.8 cm (22 1/8 × 18 1/16 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1963-105819
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





